Friday, October 11, 2013

AimeeKay Review: Shadows (Ashes Trilogy #2) by Ilsa J. Bick

The Apocalypse does not end. The Changed will grow in numbers. The Spared may not survive.

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.

But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive.Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

AimeeKay thoughts:
So I really liked the first book of the trilogy, Ashes, and the second book, Shadows, while written differently did not disappoint. If you haven’t read Ashes yet go check it out before reading this review because there will be spoilers.

Shadows is no longer told strictly from Alex’s perspective. This time around we get to see into some of the other characters heads as well. While I liked getting to see what was going on outside of Alex’s sphere, I felt that it got a bit choppy. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I would recommend that when you read Shadows you have to time to give it your full attention. I had to stop reading in between chapters and it took a minute to get back into what was going on when I began reading again.

As for the characters…..Tom is back!!! Yay! I really liked Tom and I hoped that he would be back in this novel. I have to say I like Tom WAAAY more than I like Chris. Chris is wishy-washy in his views and just doesn’t seem to have the strength to stand up for what he believes in. Tom on the other hand, while he has issues stemming form his tour of duty before the world went to hell, is determined to live his life according to his own moral code and tries not to let others influence him to the point of betraying that code. Alex is Alex. She has her own outlook and beliefs and doesn’t let others get in her way. I missed Ellie in this book. Not to spoil too much, but she isn’t seen at all in Shadows and I hope that in Monsters we get to see what happens to her.

The ending is still not only a cliffie, but multiple cliffies. I was left hanging as to what happened to quite a few characters. Yes it was slightly annoying, but going in knowing that it was the second book in a trilogy I didn’t get annoyed as I might have been. Shadows isn’t really a standalone novel. There are a lot of things going on, but for the main characters a lot is based on the story that was started in Ashes. Also it seems to be starting some more stories that will hopefully be drawn together and finished in Monsters, the third and final book.

Again, while Shadows is written differently than Ashes, it is still really good in its own way. I definitely recommend picking up this series. I don’t know yet whether Monsters will go back to only Alex’s POV or will continue on like Shadows and have multiple POVs but I definitely can’t wait to start it and find out what happens to Alex, Tom and all the rest of the characters that Bick has introduced. I might not like all of them, but they all have worked really well together and the story has sucked me in completely!

What?! A multiple cliffhanger ending? I have stress just thinking about the possibility of that! I think this is a series I will read when all the books are out because it sounds fantastic, I just don't handle cliffhangers well. Looking forward to your thoughts on the next one whenever it releases!

The only thing worse than a cliffie is multiple cliffies! I can't wait to hear what you think of book three, and hopefully you didn't have to wait too long to have your cliffie angst eased by the next one. Great review!

Oh despite the writing and a few character problems, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Curious about Tom. :D Only don't like the sound of multiple cliffies. NOoooOOOOO! Ugh I hate those things so much. SO glad you had the third ready. :)

Again thank you soooo much for getting me the books to read. Absolutely awesome! The multiple cliffies are mainly because there are the different peoples POV's. But again so glad I had the third book on hand or I would have had to go and get it before continuing on with the rest of my tbr.

It's not too choppy, just had issues when I had to put the book down and then come back to it later. I try to finish a chapter when I have to stop reading so it was partly the way I read it too. Definitely keep it on your wish list though, it is so good!